An Old Friend
by Stall Walt
Summary: Four year old Leni Loud makes a friend. Other people just can't see him. Spoopy AU.


Leni is four years old.

She is thirsty, really thirsty. Mom and Dad aren't around and she knew where the glasses were. Taking a chair, she pulled it near the cabinet and climbed on top of it.

Opening the cabinet where the glasses were, Leni bit her lip where she saw the glasses were more higher than she thought. But she was really really thirsty. Standing on her tippy toes, Leni reached for the glasses, her fingertips just a little shy of the glasses. She hopped up, her fingers getting closer and closer. Her fingertip caught the edge of a glass…

...At the same time that her foot found the edge of the chair. As she slipped, her fingertip pulled a glass down with her. She fell to the ground, a glass ready to smash itself on her head.

Suddenly, she stopped, scant inches from the ground, the glass floating in the air as well. Leni was put back up upright and the glass set down on the counter. Leni looked up only to look scolded as the presence lectured her about safety… again.

"But I was really thirsty!" Leni whined.

The presence sighed before getting the glass, filling it with water from the faucet and giving her the full glass. Leni clapped her hands and took the glass. Drinking it, she managed to empty it halfway when Dad passed by the kitchen, only to gasp as he took in the scene.

"LENI! Did you get a glass by yourself?" Dad asked as he knelt in front of her, checking her for any injuries.

"Y-Yeah…" Leni said, knowing that Daddy said that lying was bad.

"Leni, you know it can be dangerous for you. You're not even tall enough to reach the glasses… How did you even manage to do that?" Dad said as he looked at the open cabinet.

"The nice boy got it for me." Leni said before finishing the water.

Dad pursed his lips. "Right… Listen, pumpkin. Go on out of the kitchen, Dad's got to make dinner for tonight."

With that, he closed the cabinet, took the glass and set it aside, and started to get out the pots and pans. Leni walked out of the kitchen, still aware of the presence in front of her.

"So what's your name?"

The presence looked at Leni.

"Well, Dad told me that I shouldn't talk to strangers. But if you tell me your name, then it's okay!" Leni said with the utter confidence and flawless logic of a four year old.

The presence weighed its options. It told her his name. Leni, bless her little heart, tried her best to understand.

"I have a better name. I'll call you...LINCY!"

The presence sighed, yet accepted.

* * *

Leni was five years old.

"Come on, Leni!" Lori said impatiently, starting to tap her foot. "Let mom take the picture already! I'm going to be late for school!"

Leni shook her head as she darted away from Mommy, who had to put down Luan and Lynn Jr to try to catch her.

"NO! NOT WITHOUT LINCY!"

Dad sighed. Again with Lincy. "Sweetie, I'm sure Lincy doesn't need to be in your photo for your first day of school."

Leni puffed her cheeks as she stomped her foot. "No, WE WAIT FOR - Oh wait, Lincy's here!"

Dad sighed in relief as he lifted his camera. "Alright, say cheese!"

"CHEESE!" Leni said, staring at the camera as it flashed. Blinking as she looked back at the side, she frowned. "Lincy, you're supposed to smile when Daddy says 'cheese'... What do you mean, you are still getting used to cameras being this fast?"

"Leni, why was Lincy even late?" Lori asked.

Leni looked back to the side and stayed quiet for a little bit. After a while, she answered back. "Lincoln said that he was too busy reading the new comic books that we got him."

Mom frowned as she crossed her arms. "And did you put the comic books away, 'Lincy?'"

At that moment, Dad checked his watch and practically jumped in shock. "OH NO! COME ON, WE GOTTA BEAT THE MORNING TRAFFIC!"

As Dad ushered Lori and Leni out, Leni turned back to Mom. "LINCY SAID THAT HE'LL PICK THEM UP LATER! BYE MOM!"

With that, Leni hopped onto Vanzilla, and the beaten van reversed onto the road before driving off.

Mom barely had enough time to wave.

Later in the day, she stopped by Leni's room and peeked inside. She sighed as she spotted some of the comic books that they got Leni scattered on the floor. Feeling the need to clean, she picked up the comic books, put them into a stack and set them to the side.

"We really need to teach Leni about cleaning up when she's done." Mom muttered to himself as she left the room.

* * *

Leni was six years old.

She twirled around in her princess dress, loving how the dress flared out in the mirror.

"Are you ready for this, Lincy? I promise to share my candy with you."

Leni continued smiling as the presence explained something.

"Well...I'm sure the smell might be nice."

The presence sighed and tried to persuade Leni into just keeping all the candy for herself.

"No, you said you never really had a halloween before! I mean, it's totes fun, and it's FREE CHOCOLATE! Well, besides Valentine's day, but I think you have to be part of my class, and people don't see you…"

Leni thought for a moment. "Wait a minute, why can't they see you? I can see you just fine."

The presence took a moment to explain things.

Leni tilted her head. "Scary? You're not scary! Sure, a little cold at times, but you're the best teddy bear I've ever had!"

Dad called out from the first floor. "Guys, time to go. You don't want to be left with the leftovers!"

Leni smiled as she got out two buckets that were shaped like pumpkins. "Well, come on! We're burning the moon!"

The presence sighed and corrected her.

"What?" She looked confused. "'Burning Moonlight?' Pretty sure you can't burn light." Leni said as she stepped outside her room, almost bumping into Lori and Luna, who were dressed as a cowgirl and a cat.

"Hey, guys!" Leni greeted.

"Hey, Leni. Talking to Lincy?" Lori asked.

Leni nodded. "Yeah, did you know that this is basically his first time actually doing something like this? I couldn't think of a good costume for him, so right now he's a ghost!"

"Cool…" Luna replied.

"COME ON, KIDS! LET'S GO!" Their dad shouted.

"COMING!" Leni shouted before starting to head down the stairs. As Lori and Luna watched Leni go down the stairs, Luna turned to Lori and looped her finger near her temple. Lori frowned.

"Luna, that's not nice!"

"Sure, but don't tell me that Leni's not a little cuckoo."

"So what?! She's still our sister!"

"I agree."

Both girls jumped, their hearts jumping their throats, before immediately running down the stairs. As they caught up with the rest of their family, they took deep breaths as they fought to control their hearts.

"W-What was that?" Luna asked.

"I-I don't know." Lori managed to say.

All the while, Leni didn't notice them as she turned to the side again. "Where did you go, Lincy?"

* * *

Leni was seven years old today.

She stuck her tongue out as she tried her best to comprehend the paper in front of her. That was the scene that Dad came across as he entered the kitchen. Just as he was about to call out to her and help her with her homework, Leni looked up and to the side.

Dad couldn't help but watch as Leni paid close attention to the air beside her. She then looked back down and started to write something down. She finished writing and looked back up to the side. After a few moments, she looked sad as she reluctantly erased her writing and wrote again, more slowly and surely. She looked back up.

"YAY!" Leni shouted as she threw her hands up in excitement. It was then that Dad decided to speak up.

"Honey, are you doing your homework?" He said as he stepped out from the wall he was hiding behind. Leni turned around and smiled.

"DADDY, LOOK! I DID MY MATH HOMEWORK!" Leni said proudly as she held up her math homework.

Dad put on the best smile he could as he took it. As much as he loved Leni, even he had to admit that Leni wasn't the brightest bulb in the group and many nights were spent with him discussing with his wife about the possibility of putting Leni into the special needs class. Yet as he looked over the worksheet, he blinked as he looked over it, then looked over it again. Finally, he allowed himself to accept what had happened before his very eyes.

"Honey… They're right, they're ALL RIGHT! You didn't get a single one wrong!"

"REALLY?!" She squealed.

Dad grinned as he set the paper down. "I'm so proud, Leni! You're learning!"

Leni nodded her head. "Yeah, I didn't really know when the teacher explained it to me. But then it all made sense when Lincy explained it to me!"

Dad's smile faded a bit. "Lincy, Leni?"

Leni nodded. "Yeah, my friend, remember? I'm the one that doesn't remember things good, dad!"

Dad frowned. "Leni, you don't have to act like this. You are capable of thinking and learning for yourself. You don't have to keep thinking that this… Lincy is doing everything for you."

Leni frowned. "But it's true! I can't do this without Lincy!"

As Dad started another lecture, the presence continued watching.

* * *

Leni was eight years old.

"Your turn!" Leni said as she and the presence sat on a bench near the principal's office. She had her index fingers outstretched, trying her best to remember the rules of the new game that her friends had showed her.

She looked up and frowned. "Hey, it's your turn!"

The presence wasn't paying that much attention as it watched and heard the parent-teacher conference.

"Mr and Mrs. Loud, I'm afraid you have to take your daughter aside and resolve the matter with this imaginary friend of Leni's. Leni has started to become a nuisance in class when she keeps asking her friend for help, and while she had managed to find a few friends, her classmates are starting to find her behavior disturbing."

"I know."

The presence didn't know whether Mr. or Mrs. Loud replied.

"LINCY!"

The presence turned back to Leni, who pouted.

"IT'S YOUR TURN!"

The presence looked back down at Leni's fingers, before looking back at its own. It took one and tapped one of Leni's, making the little girl shiver at its touch. Then Leni extended one of her fingers.

All the while, the parent-teacher continued to take place behind them.

* * *

Leni was still eight years old.

The presence knew that he had to stop.

"I-It's okay, L-Lincy." Leni tried to reassure the presence. The presence didn't miss the wetness of Leni's eye, or how she sniffled every once in a while. "T-They're just a b-bunch of… meanies."

Some of Leni's classmates caught her talking to the presence, and they made fun of her for that. No matter what Leni said, they laughed and called her names. The presence comforted her and helped her walk away.

Then one of them made a comment about Leni needing a trip to the "Looney Bin."

… He was sure that he heard the word 'therapy' after the kids got escorted.

Either way, it was happening again. What he feared. It was happening again, and he knew exactly what to do to stop it.

But could he?

"Lincy?" Leni asked. "Can you read me a bedtime story?"

The presence looked over his shoulder at Lori's bed. Though the bigger sister was on her side looking away from Leni, he could tell she was listening, and trying not to shiver hearing LEni talk to nothing…

This was for the best.

The presence did everything: read her a bedtime story, whisper a lullaby, and hold her hand as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Good night, Lincy."

"...Good night, Leni."

Goodbye, Leni.

The next morning, Lincy didn't appear in front of Leni... and forced himself to endure as Leni cried.

* * *

Leni is fifteen years old today.

It was Spring Cleaning day, where everyone had to pitch in. Normally, it would have been yesterday, but everyone had something to do that day. Thankfully, their parents understood and rescheduled.

Either way, the house was getting cleaned today.

Leni herself had been assigned with vacuuming the entire house from top to bottom. For someone even like her, it was a relatively simple chore to do. Plug in the vacuum cleaner, turn it on, push it around until you've covered the entire floor of the room, rinse and return.

Oh and clean out the dustpan every once in a while, but thinking about all the icky dust bunnies and how they could get on her clothes… Come to think of it, why were they called dust bunnies anyway? It wasn't like they were all shaped like bunnies, and bunnies were soft and cute while dust bunnies were just plain gross... Getting back on track.

As Leni started vacuuming her and Lori's room, she pushed the machine underneath her bed. She soon started hearing something other than the whooshing of the cleaner. _Krinkle._

Leni bit her lip in distress. She really hoped the the cleaner had a problem. Fixing stuff was Lisa's forte… or was it Lana? Both of them were really smart…

Getting down on her knees, she reached under her bed and pulled out the objects that the cleaner had picked up. Part of it had gotten stuck inside the brushes of the vacuum cleaner, so she began to pull it out. Miraculously, she managed to get it out without tearing out the paper.

It was a folder, filled with papers. Leni looked the folder over, finding it to have nothing on the top besides solid blue. 'Wonder why I put this under here?' She asked herself as she opened it up and looked inside.

She immediately knew why.

There were drawings done with crayons. They were all of different memories: Halloween, Christmas, the first day of school, or just a really fun day at the park. All of them had the same subject in the middle.

Her and Lincy.

There he was, with his white hair, his slight overbite, and his cute little newsboy hat, which she can now name.

She bit her lip. After Lincy vanished, and she stopped talking about him, her family and people from school praised her, telling her it was something to be proud of to finally act like Lincy was imaginary, that it was all part of 'growing up.'

Leni didn't like the feelings that boiled up remembering those days.

Lincy was real, he had to be real. He picked things up, he held her hand, he could even make others see him even if he didn't want to most of the time.

Even now, she refused to acknowledge he scared her when he scared her classmates that one time.

He was real, and she still didn't know why he stopped showing up. Why did he? She was okay with all the name calling. Then he had a thought.

Was he okay with it? Was that why he left, because he was getting worried that she was getting hurt because of him? Leni frowned.

What she wouldn't give to ask him that question?

"Leni? Are you okay?"

Leni looked up. Her little sister Lucy was standing in the doorway, her usual blank expression having some concern in it. At least she thought it did, because otherwise, if she was constipated, why wasn't she going to the bathroom?

Leni realized that she started sniffling, and nodded her head as she reached for a nearby tissue box.

"I'm fine, Lucy. I just…" She blew her nose. "Just remembering an old friend, that's all."

"...What happened?"

Leni looked up, in time to see Lucy sit next to her. "...You sure you want to hear about him?"

Lucy nodded. "I could already tell that he must have meant a lot to you."

Leni weighed her options in her head. She handed one of the drawings to Lucy who took it with a confused look on her, or as much as confused she would look. Lucy could stand to smile a bit more.

"Drawings?" Lucy asked.

Leni smiled. "Lincy didn't show up on pictures."

Even though Lucy's expression didn't change, Leni got the impression that something changed. "...Lincy?"

"Yeah, see?" Leni pointed out the figure with the white hair. "That's Lincy."

Lucy looked like she was looking at the drawing very closely. "...How did the two of you meet?"

And that was how the two spent the hour, with Leni telling all sorts of Lincy stories with Lucy listening and occasionally interjecting.

"So that was why he really didn't like it when I kept reminding him of the 'noodle incident!'" Leni burst out laughing with Lucy giving a small smile that looked a bit mischievous.

Then Lucy wiped that smile off her face as she asked the burning question.

"So… Why did Lincy leave?"

Leni stayed quiet for a while, gathering her thoughts.

"I... I think he wasn't really okay with me getting teased a lot because I hanged out with him a lot. I know he's real, but everyone else didn't see it that way. One day, some of my classmates back then teased me, I remember crying really hard. Lincy scared them off, but I guess… he must have thought I was better off without him."

Leni sniffled and took out another tissue to blow her nose. Lucy stayed quiet as Leni composed herself. Then she spoke again.

"If… If he came back, do you want to see him again?"

Leni nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't hurt as much, but I do. I want to see him again."

"GUYS!" Dad called out from downstairs. "I DON'T HEAR A LOT OF CLEANING."

Both Leni and Lucy stood up. She stuck her tongue out as she lightly rapped herself on the head. "Sorry that I took so much time."

Lucy smiled, though it felt more like she was being polite rather than genuine. "It's no problem. This talk has been… illuminating."

Leni frowned. "Really? I didn't make you sick, did I?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, I just know more...a lot more. Thank you for your time, but I think we should finish our chores before Dad gets mad."

Leni nodded. "Right."

With that, Lucy left the room just as Leni turned on the vacuum cleaner, the noise blocking all but the loudest sounds. As Lucy turned back to the broom closet at the end of the hall that she had been organizing, she turned her head to the side, looking at the empty space beside her. She was frowning.

"...Now why didn't you tell me you knew Leni?"

* * *

Leni was still fifteen.

It had been at least a week since the talk with Lucy and something must be happening with her.

Throughout the whole week, even though she tried to hide it, everyone in the house knew that Lucy was upset or frustrated. They were still working on what Lucy felt, but it was in that ballpark. Now why did they call it that?

Anyways, Leni found it weird, because it must have something to do with her. Every time that Lucy looked at her, that sense of frustration was there. Then again, it didn't feel like Lucy was frustrated **at** her, more something from her… Was that right?

Either way, as Lucy sat down at the dinner table, she seemed better, yet she just got through a really hard test. As dinner was served and eaten, Lucy quietly ate, one word answers to every question that was thrown at her. Finally, as dinner was finished and Leni was about ready to go to her room, Lucy walked over to her.

"Leni, can you meet me in the attic?"

Leni smiled but tilted her head. "Sure, but why?"

Lucy paused for a moment. "It's a surprise."

Leni clapped her hand. "Yay, I like surprises!"

Lucy sort-of smiled. "Well...okay then…"

The two walked up the stairs and through the hallway before Lucy opened the door to the attic. As the two climbed up into the darkness, Leni looked around. "I can't see anything."

"Here, let me get that."

Some of Lucy's candles lit themselves, and there was someone waiting for them. Leni gasped. White hair, slight overbite, a newsboy cap, the old timey clothes…

"Lincy?"

Lincy rubbed the back of his head. "H-Hello, Leni."

"LINCY!" With a shout of joy, Leni ran up and threw her arms around Lincy. Though her arms didn't feel anything solid, she acted on muscle memory, feeling the cold that her arms felt act as her guide. A moment later, she felt the cold wrap themselves around her.

"It's good to...be able to s-talk with you again."

Leni let go and leaned back, looking at Lincy. "Yeah, I mean how have you been? Where did you go?"

Leni frowned. "Why did you leave?"

Lincoln let go as he floated back, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I just thought… you'd be better off without me."

Leni blinked. "Better off? Lincy, I told you I'm fine as long as you were with me."

Lincoln shook his head. "I wasn't. People were talking, and you just couldn't keep your mouth about me."

Leni frowned. "So what, I know people don't think I'm that bright…"

Lincoln scowled. "That's not the point-"

Leni sniffled. "Then what is the point, Lincy? It hurt. It really hurt. You were still here, weren't you? I cried, I cried a lot, I MISSED YOU! I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ALL THE TEASING, SO WHY!?"

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!" Lincoln shouted, a gust of wind blowing out the candles and throwing the whole attic back into darkness. Lucy quickly relit all the candles before immediately going back downstairs. Lincoln and Leni stood staring at each other, Leni utterly shocked at Lincoln's outburst.

There was only one time Leni could remember that Lincoln acted like that.

"...Lincoln?"

Lincoln sighed, suddenly looking a lot older than he should have. "I didn't want to lose you. It was the same...just like Ronnie."

Leni frowned. "...Ronnie? Who was she?"

Lincoln slowly floated down to the ground, and patted the floor in front of him. Leni walked over and sat down, not minding the dust on the ground. Suddenly, keeping her dress clean didn't seem as important as listening to what Lincoln was about to say.

"...Ronnie wasn't her real name, her name was Ronalda Santiago. She lived with her mother, brother, grandparents, uncle and aunt and two...four cousins. They lived here a long time ago, maybe forty years ago."

Leni stared wide-eyed. "Wow, good to know that this house can hold everyone."

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah. Thing is, everyone had moved in recently, and I watched them all, it had been a while since anyone lived in the house. For the most part, everyone seemed to get used to Royal Woods, except Ronnie. Apparently, she really missed her hometown and wasn't adjusting as fast to her new home."

Lincoln remembered something else and grimaced. "Also didn't help that she could be a firebrand at times."

"She sounded… lively." Leni offered.

"She was. Eventually, after a rough day of school, and she shut down in her room, I… I figured she could use a friend. So I introduced myself to her."

He grimaced. "Of course, in hindsight, appearing suddenly right in front of her wasn't the smartest idea. Good thing she didn't immediately call an exorcist the moment she saw me."

Leni giggled, and Lincoln hung his head.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Still, that was the start. She liked the idea of having a ghost for a friend, and I like having someone to actually talk to. We basically did everything together. Heck, she was how I was able to leave the house for the first time."

Leni looked confused. "You mean you can't leave on your own?"

Lincoln shook his head. "I can, but if I go any farther, it's like I get really weird and out of place. Near someone that I'm attached to, as long as I'm near them, I guess I can go outside."

"Then… Then it all ended."

Lincoln looked down, a little ashamed. "It happened the same way with you. It had been years since me and Ronnie met, and some kids caught wind of Ronnie talking to me. They teased her, but Ronnie didn't mind. They pushed her, but she pushed back. Either way, they didn't get the message. So… I decided to push back for her."

Lincoln closed his eyes. "People got scared… Ronnie's folks got scared. They were really religious, and they thought that Ronnie had an evil spirit haunting her. Eventually… Eventually, they decided they had to move out. Ronnie wanted me to come along. I knew that if I stayed with her, everything get worse… There were words…"

Lincoln was silent for a bit.

"They left, the house was declared haunted, and here I stayed; the only company being ghost hunters, the dumb kid going on a dare, or a couple wanting to...canoodle." Lincoln shivered.

"Lincoln…" Leni whispered. "...You should have told me. Like I said, I know I'm not the brightest, but I do know when I should be quiet."

Lincoln wiped his face with his hands. "Well, your sister certainly hammered that point for the past week."

Lucy entered the attic, frowning. "Well, perhaps if you weren't so stubborn, I would not have tried all week."

"Give me a break, Lucy." Lincoln groaned. "If I see something happening the same way, I don't go 'Maybe I can try something different!' Just be glad we made up, Lucy!"

Lincoln looked back at Leni. "W-We made up, didn't we?"

Leni shrugged. "Frankly, I'm just glad that we can be friends. You still want to, right?"

Lincoln nodded.

Leni clapped her hands. "Great! So can I know how you and Lucy met?"

Lucy and Lincoln looked at each other, before looking back at Leni. "It's quite a story, you sure you have time?"

Leni sat down on a nearby box. "Sure I have time."

As the three settled down and began to talk, Lincoln smiled.

* * *

Lincoln was about 90 years old.

It could end badly. It could end up like Ronnie.

"So what's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, Dad told me that I shouldn't talk to strangers. But if you tell me your name, then it's okay!"

But he was lonely, so he promised himself to do better.

"It's Lincoln."


End file.
